(HACKETTSTOWN, NJ) -- The popular Women Playwright Series (WPS) is returning to Centenary Stage Company, with three exciting new plays by playwrights Deborah Yarchun, Nora Leahy, and Patricia Cotter. The three plays being presented this November were all originally scheduled for this past spring, as a part of last season’s WPS, but were rescheduled due to the state shutdown caused by the Covid-19 Pandemic.
The playwrights will be in residence for the Series, featuring a cast of professional actors and directors, to be presented in the Kutz Theatre in the Lackland Performing Arts Center on the campus of Centenary University at 715 Grand Avenue in Hackettstown, NJ. All performances will take place on Wednesday evenings, November 4, 11 and 18 all at 7:30pm. There are no tickets for these events, but advance reservations are recommended. Admission is by donation at the door, not required, but always encouraged. Advance reservations require a $5.00 minimum donation.
Drive by playwright, Deborah Yarchun, is about a community of truckers in a small town in Iowa. They are all forced to shift gears when they lose their jobs to self-driving vehicles and when Gloria becomes the only trucker in town still employed, soon resentments begin to surface. Set in a future not far down the road, Drive explores our collective fears. Drive will be presented on Wednesday, November 4 at 7:30pm in the Kutz Theatre.
In Badlands by Nora Leahy, the play follows three library employees in the heart of “The Badlands” who have become first responders to the opioid crisis and witnesses to a changing neighborhood. Bandlands examines what we owe to each other, and to the places we come from. See Badlands on Wednesday, November 11 at 7:30pm in the Kutz Theatre.
Next on Wednesday, November 18 at 7:30 pm in the Kutz Theatre, the WPS presents Patricia Cotter’s I’ll Give You Something to Cry About. The play follows Paulette and Ann Marie; sisters who share some DNA, a brutal sense of humor and that’s about it. So, what happens when Paulette shows up unannounced to Ann Marie’s San Francisco apartment? “The Sister Play” is a ruthless comedy that investigates the meaning of family, responsibility, and the power of letting go.
The CSC Women Playwrights Series celebrates its 29th year in 2020 and has featured the work of more than 78 emerging playwrights in the developmental process of WPS. The program has also taken 18 plays to full production from the series, including “Hitlers Tasters” by Michelle Kholos Brooks, which transitioned to New York in the fall of 2018, and had a sold out run as a part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2019, as well as Darrah Cloud’s Turning, which is scheduled for CSC’s season of professional theatre in the spring of 2021 and was the recipient of the Susan Glaspell Award in 2018.
Led by Catherine Rust, the WPS program offers playwrights the opportunity to work with professional actors and directors in a workshop rehearsal process, and to hear their work in front of a live audience – a critical part of the development process. Lively talk-backs with the playwright and cast follow each presentation, and one play is selected each year as the winner of the Susan Glaspell Award, which promises a full production in the main-stage season at CSC and a monetary award for the playwright.
Admission to the WPS is by donation and reservations are suggested, as seating is often limited. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit centenarystageco.org or call the Centenary Stage Company box office at (908) 979 – 0900. The box office is open Monday through Friday from 1 – 5 PM and two hours prior to all performances. The Centenary Stage Company box office is located in the Lackland Performing Arts Center on the campus of Centenary University at 715 Grand Ave. Hackettstown, NJ. Centenary Stage Company can also be found across social media platforms; Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Like and follow to receive the latest in CSC news and special offers.
Centenary Stage Company remains committed to the health and safety of our community and adheres to all requirements set forth by the State of New Jersey including, but not limited to; observing social distancing, limited capacity, and requiring masks or facial coverings. For more information regarding CSC COVID-19 policies visit centenarystageco.org/faq.
The 2020-2021 season of performing arts events at the Centenary Stage Company is made possible through the generous support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the NJ State Council on the Arts, the Shubert Foundation, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the Sandra Kupperman Foundation, and CSC corporate sponsors, including Premiere Season Sponsor The House of the Good Shepherd, Silver Sponsors Hackettstown Medical Center Atlantic Health System, Home Instead Senior Care (Washington), and Fulton Bank, and Centenary Stage Company members and supporters.
